Apparatus for manufacturing finned structures



Oct. 15, 1940.

1.. u. LARKIN AFPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING FINNED STRUCTURES Filed June 4, 1938 Patented Oct. 15, 1940 I I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING I FINNED STRUCTURES Lester U. Larkin, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Lester U. Larkin, Inc., Baltimore, Md., a corporation of Maryland Application June 4, 1938, Serial No. 211,757

9 Claims. (01. 214-8) My invention relates. to apparatus for manu- Fig. is a cross-sectional view of a device for facturing finned structure, and more particularholding fins in stacked relationship; and 1y finned tubing for 1188' in t exchangers, Fig. 6 is an end view of a plurality of fins ilinstance evaporator coils of a mechanical relustrating the manner in which they are held 5 frigerating system. in the device shown in Fig. 5.

-In my copending application, Serial No. 196,- Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, 881, filed March 19, 1938, there is disclosed an reference characters I designate members formapparatus for manufacturing such finned strucing part of an elongated frame structure. Suittures. This apparatus includes a framework ably supported on members l0 are plates l2 to 10 supporting comb sections in the form of oppositewhich are welded, or otherwise suitably secured, 10

1y disposed plates having equally spaced grooves structural steel angles I4. The vertical legs H5 in their adjacent faces. A carriage is arranged of these angles serve to support comb sections l8. to move along the comb sections and includes These sections are in the form of plates to one mechanism for'feeding and depositing fins in side of which are secured brackets 20. These proper spaced relationship in the grooves of the brackets are so formed that the vertical legs [6 15 sections. In the aforesaid application this carof the angles are received with a snug fit between riage is shown as being operated by an electric the plates and the brackets. Lugs 22 are secured motor and it includes automatic mechanism to the outer sides of the angles and are adapted which functions to cause the carriage to first deto be received within recesses 24 formed in the posit a fin, then to move a predetermined disbrackets. To assemble these parts, the plates 2o tance and then deposit another fin. This is and brackets are moved downwardly over the repeated without requiring the attention of the vertical legs 16 with the brackets out of alignoperator and its operation is fully automatic. ment with the lugs 22. Thereafter, the plates In accordance with the present invention there and brackets are slid horizontally until the lugs 25 is provided a simple manually operated device for are received in the recess. The lugs prevent un- 25 replacing the automatic carriage. This device intentional raising of the plates l8 and further may be used in case the automatic carriage gets downward movement of these plates is prevented out of order, or it may replace the automatic by their lower edges contacting the horizontal carriage if the first cost of the device is of more plates I2. v importance than the cost of operating it, inas- The inner faces of plates I8 are formed with a 30 much as the device in accordance with the presplurality of parallel spaced grooves 26 which are ent invention is much simpler and cheaper than adapted to receive fins 28 made of thin sheet the automatic carriage, but its operation requires metal. These fins are formed with pockets, as the constant attention of the operator. I is shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and particularly Fig. 6.

s In accordance with my invention there is also The pockets are formed symmetrically so that the 35v provided a device. for holding fins instacked refins have a Overall Width materially greater lationship, but in such a way that an operat r than thethickness of sheet used. The pockets or may rapidly remove one fin and only one fin t a indentations may be of any desired shape and time. may cover the entiresurface of the fin, or only Further objects and advantages of my invem a portion thereof. As shown they are square and 40 tion will be apparent from the following descripformed the entire Surface of tion considered in connection with the aocomwlth the exceptlon of an area of small Width tending along the vertical center line of the fin. y g f g f if f part of tms Also, the fins are, formed with two spaced apercafllon c tures 30 loccated on the vertical-center line.

Fig. 1 1s a cross-sectional View showing a pordevice for guiding and depositing fins 28 19101} 9 colPb wlth mg and within the grooves 26 is designated generally by Posltmg devlce m accordance wlth my mventlon 7 reference character 32. It consists of parallel and is tak on the line Of members 34 and 36 which are held in fixed spaced Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the relationship by means of .rods 3 or the 1 50 line 2 of Fi 1; Members 34 and 36 are adapted to slide along Fig. 3 is a bottom view taken on the line 33 the upper edges of the plates l8, and the memof Fig. 1; her 36 is formed with 9. depending flange 38 Fig. 4 is a top view of the fin guiding and dewhich contacts the outer face of one of the positing device shown in the preceding figures; plates I8 inorder to guide the device 32. l 5.)

A pair of plates 40 and 42 extend between the members 34 and 36 and are disposed angularly with respect to each other so as to providea V- shaped trough 44 therebetween. The lower edges of the plates 46 and 42 are spaced apart so as to form a slot 46 at the apex of the V- shaped trough. The distance between the members 34 and 36, and hence the length of the trough 44 is substantially equal to the horizontal distance between the bottoms of corresponding grooves 26 in the plates l8, as appears from Fig. 2.

Extending downwardly and rigidly secured to the member 36 by means of a spacing block 48 is an arm 50. When the device 32 is in place on the plates IS, the arm 50 extends to near the bottom edges of the plates l8. Secured to the lower end of arm 50 is a block or the like 52 formed with a slot in which is slidably and adjustably received an arm 54. A set screw 56 is provided for retaining the arm 54 in adjusted position.

The operation of the above described apparatus is as follows: The device 32 is placed in position on the upper edges of the plates IS with the slot 46 in alignment with the first pair of grooves 26a in which it is desired to deposit a fin. The operator then inserts the lower end of a fin into the trough 44 and it is guided into the aforesaid pair of grooves 26. While this operation could be performed without the use of the device 32, the grooves 26 are so close together that consid-' erable care would have to be exercised by the operator in order to be certain that the opposite edges of the fin were received in opposite grooves 6.

The device 32 is then slid to the right as viewed in Fig. 3, along the upper edges of the plates l6 until the slot 46 is in alignment with the next pair of grooves 26 in which it is desired to deposit a fin. As shown in Fig. 1, the fins are being deposited in every third pair of grooves 26, and consequently for this spacing of the fins the slot 46 would be aligned with the groove 26b in Fig. 1. The arm 54 is then moved to the left, as shown in Fig. 1, until it contacts the face of the first fin to have been deposited, that is the fin retained in the grooves 26a. The set screw 56 is now tightened so as to retain the arm 54 in this position. Another fin is then inserted into the trough 44 and is guided through the slot 46 into the pair of grooves 26b. Downward movement of this fin is arrested by the arm 54. The device 32 is then moved further to the right and as soon as the arm 54 clears the lower end of the last fin deposited, this fin drops down until it strikes the plates I2. The device 32 is then slid back toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 1, until the left hand end of arm 54 strikes this fin. The slot 46 is now in alignment withthe .next pair of grooves in which it is desired to deposit a fin, and the operator inserts a fin into the trough 44 and it is guided through the slot 46 into the proper pair of grooves 26.

Once the arm 54 has been adjusted, the operator is able to deposit fins very rapidly. All he has to do, after he has deposited a fin, is to move the,

device 32 to the right until the last fin drops all the way down, then move the device 32 to the left slightly until the arm 54 contacts the last fin, and then insert another fin into the trough 44.

In performing the above operations the operator moves the device 32 with one hand and places fins in the trough 44 with the other. In order to aid him in rapidly picking up one fin at a time with one hand, there is provided the fin holder. designated generally by referencecha'racter 60 and shown in Fig. 5. This holder includes a base 62 to which is secured a member 64 forming an angle a with a base of less than Another member 66 is secured to the member 64 so as to form therewith an angle b, which is less than 90. The width of member 64 and member 66 is substantially equal to the width of the fins 26 and side pieces 68 are provided for retaining the fins in the angular space formed between the members 64 and 66. Due to the fact that the angle b is less than 90, each fin in the stack will be slightly out of line with adjacent fins, and the upper edge of the first fin in the stack extends slightly above the other fins. The operator is thus able to rapidly pick off one fin at a time by moving his hand from left to right, as viewed in Fig. 5,,in a substantially horizontal direction across the top of the stack of fins. His hand will contact only the upper edge of the first fin in the stack and will cause it to pivot about its lower edge and away from the remaining fins whereupon he may readily grasp it and insert it in the trough 44 of the device 32.

I The nature of the pockets or indentations in the fins is such that they are able to nest if they are all placed the same way in the stack, that is, the projections on one fin will be received within the recesses on adjacent fins. If the fins are arranged in this manner it is practically impossible for an operator to rapidly pick off but one fin at a time when using one hand. In order to avoid this, the fins are preferably arranged as shown in Fig. 6. As will be apparent from this figure, the projections and recesses on one fin are in alignment with the projections and recesses, respectively, on the adjacent face of the next fin. Consequently, nesting of the fins is prevented and the operator is able to rapidly pick one fin at a time from the stack shown in Fig. 5.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description is for the purpose of illustration only and that the scope of my invention is not to be restricted to that which has been shown and described.

What I claim is:

1. In a device for fabricating finned structure, stationary retaining means for fins, means movable with respect to said retaining means for guiding fins to spaced locations in said retaining means, and structure carried by the guiding means and cooperating with a fin previously deposited for determining the movement of said guiding means necessary to provide the spacing of the fins.

2. In a device for fabricating finned structure, fixed retaining means for fins, movable means for guilding fins to spaced locations in said retaining means, and a member mounted on and adjustable with respect to the guiding means for contacting the last fin deposited for determining the spacing therefrom of the next fin to be deposited.

3; In an apparatus for fabricating finned devices, retaining means for fins, and structure movable along said retaining means, said structure including means for guiding fins into said retaining means, and an arm for contacting the last fin deposited to determine the spacing therefrom of the next fin to be deposited.

4. In an apparatus for fabricating finned devices, fin retaining means including spaced plates formed with fin receiving grooves in their adjacent faces, and structure movable along the edges of said plates and including means for I edges oi said plates and having a V-shaped trough formed with a slot at the apex alisnable with opposite grooves in said plates for guiding a fin thereinto, said structure including an arm adapted to contact thelast fin deposited to locate said structure for proper spacing of the fins.

6. In a device for fabricating finned structure,

fin retaining means including spaced plates formed with fin receiving grooves in their adjacent faces, a pair of members held in spaced relationship and movable along the edges of said plates, transversely extending means disposed between said members and providing a V-shaped trough formed with a slot at the apex alignable with opposite grooves in said plates for guiding a fin thereinto, and an arm carried by said members and extending between said plates for contacting the last fin held in said retaining means to locate said slot in alignment with the properpair of opposite grooves to. give the desired spacing of said fins.

7. Ina device for fabricating finned structure, fin retaining means including spaced plates formed with fin receiving grooves in their adiacent faces, a pair of members held in spaced relationship and movable along the edges of said plates, transversely extending means disposed between said members and providing a V-shaped trough formed with a slot at the apex alignable with opposite grooves in said plates for guiding a fin thereinto, a third member rigidly secured to said members and extending between said plates, and an arm adjustably carried by said third member and extending substantially at right angles to the grooves in said plates for contacting the last fin held in said retaining means to locate said slot in alignment with the proper pair of opposite grooves to give the desired spacing of said fins.

8. In a device for fabricating finned structure, a pair of spaced parallel rail members, a pair of angularly disposed plates secured between said rail members, said plates forming a V-shaped trough having a slot at the apex, a member rigidly secured to said rail members and extending below said plates and entirely to one side of said slot, and an arm carried by the last mentioned member and extending underneath said slot.

9. In a device for fabricating finned structure, a pair of spaced parallel rail members, a pair of angularly disposed plates secured between said rail members, said plates forming a V-shaped trough having a slot at the apex, a member rigidly secured to said rail members and extending below said plates and entirely to one side of said slot, an arm movably carried by the last mentioned member and extending underneath said slot, and means for securing said arm in adjusted position.

LESTER U.- LARHN. 

